Albay governor-elect and outgoing Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal expressed satisfaction as he leaves his office with more than enough funds for the continuance of his flagship programs for the city and its sustained development.
Rosal said he felt sad about giving up his post as city mayor but is happy to leave behind enough financial logistics that would enable the next administration to continue or even surpass his accomplishments during his 18-year stint as city mayor.
He will be succeeded by his wife Geraldine, who had also served as the city’s chief executive from 2010 to 2013.
“When I first became mayor, Legazpi City only earned an annual income of P100 million.”
Rosal noted that in 2001 when he first became mayor, this city only earned an annual income of P100 million.
But through the tax collection strategies implemented by his administration for 21 years, the city’s annual income ballooned to over P2 billion in 2021, available data showed.
He said Legazpi City was adjudged for two consecutive years by the Department of Finance (DOF) as the top-performing city in the entire country in terms of tax collection efficiency, which is being attributed to the local government’s innovations, particularly its e-payment using automated teller machines (ATMs).
Rosal said Legazpi City is also named the number one most competitive city under the component city category in the entire country for having performed well in complying with the index levels set by the National Competitive Council (NCC).
“The recognition given by the NCC and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has resulted in the improvement of investors’ confidence.”
“The recognition given by the NCC and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has resulted in the improvement of investors’ confidence that they considered Legazpi as one of their favorite investment hubs in Southern Luzon,” he stressed.
Rosal said various giant investors such as the SM City, Ayala, Gaisano, and other malls are now operating here and generating employment that redounds to the economic growth rate of Legazpi.
He also noted that his administration has built a P100-million engineered sanitary landfill in partnership with the Agencia Española de Cooperacion International para el Desarrollo (AECID) in Barangay Banquerohan.
“The waste management project has become the ‘showcase’ of Legazpi’s best practice of not incurring debt in its operation and maintenance,” he said.
The city government, Rosal added, has constructed a state-of-the-art three-story Legazpi City Hospital that is considered one of the most modern health facilities in Bicol.
